


Step Away From My Dad, Mister!

by Qs_Elephant



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, kid eric, parent juyeon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:53:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 17,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25721635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Qs_Elephant/pseuds/Qs_Elephant
Summary: Juyeon is a lawyer who adopts his son Youngjae when he is just an infant. As time goes on, their bond only grows stronger. One day, Juyeon meets Chanhee and falls in love with him. Youngjae thinks Chanhee is trying to take Juyeon away from him and steal all of his attention, so he tries everything that he can think of to get rid of him.
Relationships: Choi Chanhee | New/Lee Juyeon
Kudos: 79





	1. Youngjae/ Eric

Juyeon always wanted a child. It was his biggest dream after becoming a lawyer. Now that he is already a lawyer, and has a firm with his two friends Younghoon and Jaehyun, it is time for that next dream. 

After months of lengthy paperwork and a home inspection, Juyeon is finally allowed to pick up his baby from the adoption center. He sits in the waiting room of the adoption center nervously tapping his foot, thinking about what will happen when he finally meets the baby. What if the baby doesn't like him and starts crying as soon as they meet? What if the adoption center changes their mind and gives the baby to someone else?

"Mr. Lee?" A woman calls, snapping Juyeon out of his anxious thoughts. 

"Yes?" 

"Here is your baby boy. His name is Youngjae." She says, handing him the baby. 

Juyeon holds the baby and looks down at him. The chubby baby is looking up at him and smiling. That angelic smile takes away all of Juyeon's anxious feelings, he is delighted with the fact that the baby seems to like him. 

"He is an angel." Juyeon states, smiling back at the baby. 

The adoption center even gives Juyeon some supplies to take home with Youngjae, such as clothes and diapers. 

The next day, Juyeon's friend Kevin comes over to visit. 

"Hey Juyeon." 

"Hi Kevin, come in." 

"So, where is the new baby?" Kevin asks, after Juyeon closes the front door.

"He is sleeping upstairs, follow me." 

They quietly walk upstairs and open the door to Youngjae's room, they tip toe over to his crib to avoid waking him up. 

"Oh my gosh, he is adorable." Kevin comments, looking into the crib. 

"His name is Youngjae." 

"He looks like an Eric to me, if he had an English name that would definitely be it." 

Kevin and Juyeon go back downstairs to talk so Youngjae can sleep peacefully.

"Sorry I couldn't go with you to pick him up yesterday. I had to deliver a work of art and it took a while to install." 

"That's okay, you'll have plenty of time to see him once I go back to work. You'll take care of him in a couple of weeks, right?"

"Yeah, as soon as you go back to work, I'll watch Eric for you." 

"Thanks Kevin."

"That's what best friends are for." Kevin smiles. 


	2. The Visit

The next week, Juyeon's friends Jaehyun and Younghoon come to see Youngjae. All three of them own and work at a law firm together. When Juyeon told them about Youngjae, they gave him two weeks off and asked if they could visit after a week. So, here they are. 

"Where is he? We want to see the little angel." Jaehyun says, as soon as they enter the house.

"Good to see you too." Juyeon responds.

"Sorry about that, we're just excited to see your son. We got a gift for Youngjae."

"And we brought you a cake." Younghoon adds. 

Juyeon opens up the box to find a pair of footsie pajamas with teddy bears on it. 

"Thank you guys, Youngjae will love this. I'm feeding him right now, so follow me to the kitchen." 

They walk into the kitchen where Youngjae is sitting on his highchair at the dinner table, Juyeon sits next to him. 

"Oh my gosh, he is so cute!" Jaehyun gushes, as Juyeon feeds Youngjae a spoonful of peas and carrots. 

"Can I feed him?" Younghoon asks.

"Sure."

Younghoon takes the spoon and feeds Youngjae. 

Youngjae looks at Younghoon and touches his face, then smiles. 

"Awww, even Youngjae thinks you are handsome." Juyeon points out.

All three of them take turns feeding him until the jar is empty. Juyeon wipes his baby's face with the bib. 

"You don't seem all that tired Juyeon." Younghoon comments.

"Well, it has only been a week and he is a mellow baby so far." 

Youngjae starts waving his arms and babbling. 

"Can I hold him?" Jaehyun asks.

"Yeah." 

Juyeon takes Youngjae out of his high chair and hands him over to Jaehyun. He immediately starts crying, so Juyeon takes him back. 

"I barely held him."

"Maybe he just doesn't like you." Younghoon teases. 

"It's okay Youngjae, daddy is here. You don't have to be scared of uncle Jaehyun." 

Juyeon pats his back, unintentionally burping him, thus stopping his cries. 

"Oh, he just needed to be burped. Here, try holding him again." 

He takes Youngjae, and does not receive cries this time. 

"Hi Youngjae, you are so adorable." 

Youngjae giggles. 

"So now that dinner is over, what are you two up to now?"

"Just gonna relax for a bit, then give him a bath before bed."

"We can cut the cake if you guys want." Juyeon continues. 

Jaehyun and Younghoon say yes and begin cutting the vanilla cake and eating at the kitchen table. Youngjae tries to grab the spoon, but his dad stops him.

"You can't have cake yet Youngjae, you have to wait until you're older." 

The three of them eat cake and talk until it starts getting dark outside. 

"Well, I guess it is time for you to start getting Youngjae ready for bed. We have to get going too." Jaehyun says, as he and Younghoon get up.

"Thanks for stopping by guys, see you on Monday."

"We'll see you. Goodbye, take good care of Juyeon, Youngjae." 

Juyeon sees them out, waving and closing the front door. 

"Let's get you ready for bed Youngjae." 

Juyeon heads upstairs to the bathroom and begins to fill the tub with water and bath soap. Once there is enough water, Juyeon rolls up his pant legs and picks Youngjae up, putting him in the water while he sits on the edge of the tub. 

"Let's start with your hair." 

Juyeon grabs the shampoo and puts a little bit in his hand before rubbing it in his son's hair. 

"Now we can tip your head back to wash out the shampoo." 

Juyeon pours water from a bowl onto Youngjae's head, making sure to avoid his eyes. He sees Youngjae smile.

"Awww, do you like the warm water and bubbles Youngjae?" Juyeon says, as he pours on more water to get all of the shampoo out. 

After Youngjae is nice and squeaky clean, Juyeon dries him with a towel and takes him to his room to put on pajamas. Juyeon puts baby powder and a diaper on him before picking pajamas. 

"Oh, let's try on the new pajamas uncle Jaehyun and uncle Younghoon brought over."

When Youngjae is fully dressed, Juyeon admires how cute he looks.

"You look adorable in those pajamas Youngjae, your uncles have good taste." 

Juyeon picks him up and they sit down in the rocking chair in the corner of the room together so Juyeon can read to help his son fall asleep. Halfway through The Three Little Pigs, he is fast asleep. 

"Good night Youngjae, I love you." Juyeon whispers, as he kisses Youngjae's forehead and places him in his crib. 


	3. Uncle Kevin

"Whoa this a lot of stuff for just one day." Kevin says, as Juyeon hands him four bags filled with baby stuff.

"Did you pack his whole room?" Kevin adds.

"No, just the essentials. Clothes, diapers, food, and his favorite toys. I just want to make sure he has everything. This is the first time we will be apart."

"Juyeon, he will be fine with me. I promise. Now, go have fun at work." 

Juyeon nods.

"Youngjae, be good to uncle Kevin. I will see you after work, I love you." Juyeon kisses his son's forehead before handing him over. 

Kevin and Youngjae wave to Juyeon before he goes off to work. 

"Welcome back Juyeon." Younghoon greets him as soon as he enters.

"Hey guys."

"Ready to get back to work?" Jaehyun asks, handing Juyeon a folder.

"Always."

Juyeon goes to sit at his desk and look at the case Jaehyun handed him. After a while, his mind wanders to Youngjae. 

"Kevin better be taking good care of him." 

Meanwhile, at Kevin's house, he reads over the list that Juyeon gave him. 

"Your dad sure has a lot of rules. I better follow them, he is very particular about things. It says the first thing you can do is play."

Kevin sets out Youngjae's blue blanket and his toys. 

"Okay Eric, here you go. This will enrich your brain."

He picks up a block and puts it in his mouth.

"Or help you get ready to eat solid foods later." 

Kevin takes the block away from Eric and show him how to stack it. When all four blocks are stacked, Eric knocks it down and laughs. 

"Hey you destroyed all my hard work." Kevin pouts.

Eric claps and continues laughing. 

"You're so precious. Taking care of you will be fun." Kevin responds. 


	4. Every Moment

"Come on, Youngjae, you can do it. Say dada."Juyeon tells his son. 

All he gets is a blank stare in response. 

"You'll get it one day, don't worry." Juyeon says, as he takes Youngjae out of his crib. 

They go downstairs for breakfast. Juyeon gives Youngjae Cheerios while he has waffles. Youngjae eats his cereal quietly, but after breakfast he babbles while watching television with his dad. 

"D-d-d." 

"You are so close Youngjae, just add an a sound." 

Juyeon never gets that sound, Youngjae is pretty silent until one of his favorite cartoons comes on, which is Super Dog. 

"D-d-dog!" Youngjae suddenly exclaims. 

Juyeon looks over, shocked. Did he really just hear his son speak?

"Youngjae, what did you say?"

He goes quiet again, so Juyeon get his stuffed dog. 

"Dog!" 

"Oh my gosh, you said your first words. I am so proud of you Youngjae!" 

Juyeon is so happy that he was around for Youngjae's first word, even if it wasn't dad, it still makes him feel proud. 

The next time Juyeon drops Youngjae off at Kevin's house he informs him about Youngjae's latest milestone. 

"Oh my gosh, Eric said his first word already? What was it?"

"Dog."

"Well, that makes sense. He really loves to watch that Super Dog show, a smile comes to his face whenever it is on."

"I know. That moment made me realize that these special moments in his life mean a lot to me and I don't want to miss them. So I want you to record them for me."

"Everything?"

"Just important things, I don't want to miss anything while I am at work." Juyeon elaborates. 

From that point on Kevin records a lot of videos and sends them to Juyeon while he is on his break at work. 

"Awww." Juyeon says, while he watches one of these videos at work. 

"What are you watching Juyeon? Oh, is it a video of a puppy? Kittens?" Younghoon asks.

"No, this is cuter. Kevin sent me the cutest video of Youngjae saying apple." Juyeon explains. 

"He can talk already?"

"Yeah, he started recently and now Kevin is teaching him more words, dog was his first word. It wasn't dad, but I'm still so happy he is starting to talk."

"Don't worry, he will say dad one day." Younghoon says, patting Juyeon's back before getting up. 

Juyeon is very sure that his son will say that one day, he just has to wait it out. Thankfully for him, his wait is not long. 

One day Juyeon is on the phone talking to Jaehyun about a recent case, his son is sitting in his lap. 

"Daddy." Youngjae says, reaching up to Juyeon's face. 

Juyeon's eyes open widely in shock and looks down. Youngjae is still reaching for his face. 

"Hold on for a second, Jaehyun." Juyeon says, putting the phone down. 

"Youngjae?"

"Daddy." 

Juyeon smiles and picks Youngjae up so they are eye level.

"You finally said it! This makes daddy so happy, Youngjae." 

Youngjae reaches out and grabs Juyeon's nose while calling out to him again. 

"It's a good thing Kevin has been using those flashcards with you." 

"Love." Youngjae says.

"Who do you love? Is it me?"

"Love!" Youngjae happily exclaims. 

"I will take that as a yes. Daddy loves you too Youngjae." 


	5. The Prince

As Youngjae gets older, his bond with Juyeon grows stronger. To Juyeon, Youngjae is the little prince of the house. Youngjae can talk to Juyeon about anything, even his fears. 

Thunder and lightning wakes Youngjae up one night. Scared, he climbs out of his bed and goes to his dad's room. He creaks open the door to find him asleep, so he crawls into his bed. 

"Daddy, wake up." Youngjae says, tapping Juyeon.

"Huh? Youngjae, what's wrong? Why aren't you asleep?"

A roar of thunder comes by, causing Youngjae to cling to Juyeon.

"That's why." 

"Do you want to sleep here tonight?"

Youngjae nods in response. He immediately gets under the covers and cuddles up next to his dad. 

"The thunder won't hurt you, Youngjae, You are safe and sound inside with daddy." Juyeon tells his son. 

Whenever they are apart, Youngjae can't wait to see Juyeon again. He loves his uncle Kevin, but he can't help but miss his dad. 

"I love finger painting with you uncle Kevin." 

"I love painting with you too. Are you making that for your dad?"

"Yeah. Can I give it to him when he gets here?"

"It should be dry by the time he gets here, so sure." Kevin, says, taking the paper and hanging it up to dry.

"Now, who wants some juice and crackers?" Kevin asks.

"Me, me, me!" 

"Come on Eric, let's go to the kitchen."

"Race you there!" Youngjae exclaims. 

Once they are both sitting at the kitchen table, Kevin gives Youngjae a juice box and crackers. Kevin allows Eric to continue his creativity by giving him a coloring book. During his second coloring page, Juyeon arrives. 

"Eric, you dad is here." Kevin calls out. 

Eric runs into Juyeon's arms and hugs him. 

"I missed you too my little prince." Juyeon says, picking Eric up.

"Eric made a present for you." Kevin announces, handing Juyeon a paper. 

"See daddy, that is our house and I drew you and me next to it." Eric explains. 

"You did such a great job with this picture kiddo."

"Thank you." Eric replies proudly.

Juyeon and Eric say goodbye to Kevin before leaving to go home. 

Like most kids, Eric's favorite day of the year is his birthday. Especially because it means he gets to spend all day with his favorite person in the whole world since Juyeon takes the day off from work. 

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Wake up!" Youngjae shouts, jumping on Juyeon's bed. 

"What is it?"

"Guess what today is?" Youngjae asks, still jumping.

"I don't know. It is just a regular Tuesday."

Eric stops jumping and tells Juyeon that it is his birthday. 

"I know. I was just joking with you. I have a fun day planned today."

"What are we going to do?"

"It is a surprise. Now, go get dressed so we can have breakfast and go out." 

Eric runs to his room to get dressed. He comes back wearing his favorite outfit, which is a blue button up shirt and black pants along with a baseball cap. He likes to dress similarly to his father, the baseball cap is his own personal touch however. 

"Daddy, since it is my birthday can we match today?"

"Of course. We can match whenever you want to." 

Juyeon gets dressed in the same outfit. At breakfast, Eric wolfs down his pancakes. 

"Youngjae, slow down. You might choke if you eat that fast." 

"Sorry daddy, I just really want to see the surprise."

"It will happen before you know it." 

After breakfast, Juyeon drives Eric to the surprise. Which is an amusement park.

"Lotte World? This is the best present ever! Come on daddy, let's go!" Youngjae exclaims, dragging Juyeon inside the park. 

The first thing they do together is ride the merry-go-round. 

"Horsey!" Eric says, as Juyeon puts him on the plastic horse. 

"Remember to hold onto the horse, okay Youngjae?"

"Yes dad."

Juyeon stands next to Eric as the ride goes around. He enjoys seeing Eric so happy as they ride the merry-go-round. 

:"What do you want to do next?" Juyeon asks Eric.

"I want to go on the airplane ride."

"Alright, come on."

Youngjae runs to the ride, so Juyeon speeds up after him. 

"Youngjae, wait for daddy."

Eric pauses and holds his dad's hand as they walk through the park. 

"Dad, look at me! I'm flying!" Eric points out to Juyeon, as he is on the ride.

"I see you, Eric." Juyeon waves, smiling at his son. 

"Did you see me daddy? I was up so high it was like I could touch the sky." Eric says, as he gets off the ride and runs to his dad.

"Yeah, you were all the way in the sky."

"It was the best." Eric says. 

Eric goes on a few more rides before he and Juyeon have lunch. 

"What do you want to eat, Youngjae?"

"I want a corn dog. Please, daddy?"

Juyeon gets corn dogs for both of them.

"Do you want ketchup kiddo?"

"Yes please."

Juyeon puts a line of ketchup on the corn dog.

"Thank you daddy."

"You're welcome." 

They spend time at the amusement park until four o'clock. 

When they get home, they are greeted by Kevin.

"Happy birthday, Eric!" Kevin says, holding a cake.

"Thank you uncle." Eric responds, hugging Kevin.

"Let's go in the kitchen and light some candles so you can make a wish." 

Juyeon lights the candles and Eric makes a wish before blowing them out. Juyeon and Kevin cheer and congratulate Eric. As they eat cake together, Eric suggests the addition of ice cream. 

"I can get it." Eric tells his dad.

"Okay, be careful." Juyeon replies, before Eric goes off to the kitchen.

"Wow, I can't believe Eric is five already. It seems like just yesterday he was crawling around the house." Kevin states.

"Yeah. Now I have to sign him up for kindergarten."

"Is he ready for it?"

"He definitely is, he is such an independent child. I even talked to him about it and he told me he was excited about it. I'm the one who is not ready for him to go to kindergarten yet. Do you think I can let him go next year?"

"Juyeon, you can't hold Eric back like that. You will get used to him going to school soon."

"I guess so. I have to let him go, he really wants to anyway. I will be strong for him." Juyeon agrees. 


	6. First Day

Eric's first day of school comes faster than Juyeon wants it to. 

"Are you excited for kindergarten?"

"Yeah, I can't wait to get there!" Youngjae answers. 

When they arrive, Juyeon talks to Eric before letting him go. 

"Remember, be nice to everyone and do your best."

"I know, daddy."

"Daddy will be here to pick you up at two o'clock."

"Okay. Can I go now?"

"Okay, I guess I have to let you go now. I love you, Youngjae." 

"I love you too, daddy." Eric replies, as they hug. 

Juyeon finally lets go. 

"Bye dad." Eric waves, as he walks into the classroom. 

"Bye sweetie." Juyeon waves back. 

He sighs before going to drive to work.

"So, how was the drop off?" Younghoon asks, as Juyeon enters the office. 

"Yeah, was Youngjae clinging onto you?" Jaehyun adds. 

"No, he was eager to go. I was the one who couldn't let go, it was so hard to. He is my little baby, I can't believe that he just started school. I just hope he has fun there."

"I'm sure he will have a blast and make lots of friends."

Jaehyun is right, by the first week of school Eric has made friends with half the class. By the second week of school, he meets his best friends. 

After saying goodbye to his dad, he enters the room and sees a boy by himself in the corner. He has seen this boy around, but hasn't really interacted with him, so he decides to introduce himself. The boy is coloring when Eric walks up to him to see if he wants company. 

"Hi."

"Hello." The boy answers shyly. 

"Can I sit with you?" Eric asks.

"Sure."

"What are you doing?" 

"I'm making a card from my brother, he is sick." The boy explains, as the continues coloring the petals of the flower.

"Can I add something?" 

The boy hesitates at first, but allows Youngjae to pick up a crayon. He adds a yellow smiley face to the center of the flower. 

"That should make him smile."

The boys smiles and giggles. 

"See? It made you smile." Eric points out. 

"My brother will love it. Hey, what's your name?"

"My name is Youngjae, but you can call me Eric. What about you?"

"My name is Hyunjoon." 

Eric and Hyunjoon spend the rest of the day together, instantly becoming best friends. 

When Eric gets picked up, he can't stop talking about Hyunjoon. 

"Then we played tag and sat next to each other at story time. We both like The Three Little Pigs, and his favorite show is Super Dog too." Youngjae rambles. 

The next day, Eric cannot wait to see Hyunjoon again, he sees him outside the classroom clinging to his dad. 

"Look daddy, there is Hyunjoon!" Eric exclaims, running to Hyunjoon. 

"Hyunjoon!"

"Eric!"

They run to each other and hug. 

"I'm glad you're here." Hyunjoon says. 

"You too." 

"Hyunjoon, is this your little friend you were talking about?"

"Yes, dad." 

"Hi, I'm Eric."

"Hi, Eric. I'm Hyunjoon's dad, Mr. Bae." 

The man looks up and sees Juyeon. 

"And you must be Eric's dad." 

"Yeah, I'm Lee Juyeon. Nice to meet you." 

"Nice to meet you as well. I'm Bae Sangyeon." 

Just then, another man shows up. 

"Honey, I got Hyunjoon's stuffed cat." 

"Jacob, this is Eric's dad, Lee Juyeon. You remember Eric, Hyunjoon's new friend?"

"Of course. It is nice to meet you, I'm Bae Jacob."

"I don't think I need Charlie anymore daddy, now that my best friend is here." Hyunjoon blurts out. 

"Okay, but keep him in your backpack again just in case." 

They all tell their sons goodbye. 

"Your son really calmed ours down, they seem like close friends already." 

"Yeah, Hyunjoon is really shy and has trouble opening up to other kids, except for his brother." Jacob adds. 

"Well, I'm glad that he could help. Your son seems nice." Juyeon says. 

"So does your son." 

A couple of days later, Youngjae gets to meet Hyunjoon's brother. 

"Eric, this is my brother." Hyunjoon says, pointing to the boy next to him. 

"Hi." 

"Hi, I'm Sunwoo. My brother told me you helped him with the flower." 

"Yeah. Do you guys want to draw together?" 

They nod and sit next to Eric. All three of them spend the day together, playing games and learning new things. 

When Juyeon comes to pick his son up, he can't stop talking about his new best friends. 

"You seem to really like your new friends."

"They are the best! I wish I could see them outside of school too!" 

That statement gives Juyeon the perfect idea, an idea that will make Eric very happy. His idea is to set up a play date for Eric. 


	7. Eric's Play Date

"Are you excited for you first play date, Youngjae?" Juyeon asks, as they walk to the Bae's house. 

"Yeah! I can't wait to see Hyunjoon and Sunwoo outside of school. Now we can do anything."

They arrive at a blue two story house with sunflowers in the front yard. Juyeon rings the doorbell and Sangyeon opens the front door. 

"Hello, Juyeon and Eric. Please, come in." 

As they enter the house, Sunwoo and Hyunjoon come running down the stairs, calling out to Eric.

"Careful going down the stairs boys." Jacob says, following closely after. 

They run over to Eric and hug him.

"Now that you're here, we can play tons of games. We can play hide-and-seek, super heroes, and pirates." Hyunjoon rambles on.

Jacob leads them up the stairs to make sure they are careful, before going to the living room where Sangyeon and Juyeon are now sitting. 

"You set up all the games for them?" Sangyeon asks Jacob.

"Yeah. Oh, that reminds me. I have to finish making the tea." Jacob says, leaving the room. 

"So, how has your day been going?" Sangyeon questions.

"Good, I don't have to work today." Juyeon answers.

"What do you do?" 

"I'm a lawyer."

"Ah, that must be tiring."

"Sometimes. How about you?"

"I'm a car salesman"

Sangyeon and Juyeon continue to talk until Jacob returns. 

"The tea is ready." Jacob announces, setting down a tray with a tea pot and three cups filled with tea.

All three of them drink the tea and talk about things such as work and hobbies, Juyeon even finds out that he has a few things in common with Sangyeon and Jacob. Juyeon learns that Jacob is a stay at home dad who also works as an online editor. The three of them like camping and agree that they should make plans to go together some time. Sangyeon even tells a story about the last time they went camping and how the only fish they caught was small, but then Hyunjoon and Sunwoo ended up catching rather large fish. 

"Have you taken Eric camping?" 

"We have only gone once so far, he really likes watching the birds when we going hiking."

"That is so precious, we really need to go together. All of six of us. Wait, does Eric have another parent? If you don't mind me asking." Jacob asks. 

"No, he just has me. I adopted him when he was a few months old and it has been the two of us ever since." 

"We adopted our when they were babies too."

Upstairs, their sons are playing pirate with plastic swords, pretending to have a fight.

Eric pretends to stab Sunwoo with his sword. Sunwoo falls to the ground, pretending to die. 

"No, not my brother!" Hyunjoon says, before he stabs Eric. 

"You got me!" Eric exclaims, falling next to Sunwoo. 

"I win!" Hyunjoon cheers. 

"Let's play another game. Oh! Let's show Eric our dog." Sunwoo suggests.

"You guys have a dog? I love dogs."

Hyunjoon goes over to the toy box and takes out a remote control beagle. 

"It's a toy?" 

"Yeah, his name is Bagel." Hyunjoon answers. 

"Our fathers won't let us get a real dog until we're older." Sunwoo explains. 

"I've always wanted a dog, but I never asked my dad." 

"You should ask him. Maybe your daddy will say yes and we could visit it." Hyunjoon says. 

"But for now, we can play with Bagel." Sunwoo responds, taking the remote from his brother. 

"It is really cute." Eric states, going over to the toy. 

The boys take turns making the dog bark, do tricks, and walk around the room. 

When they get sick of that, they move onto to hide-and-seek. As the adults are talking, Sunwoo runs over to Jacob with a blanket in his hands. 

"Daddy, can I sit on you lap and hide under this blanket?" 

"Sure." Jacob says, before picking Sunwoo up and resting him on his lap. 

Sunwoo picks up the blanket and throws it over himself. 

Moments later, Eric and Hyunjoon come down to search for Sunwoo.

"What are you boys up to?" Sangyeon asks them.

"Looking for Sunwoo. Have you seen him, Dad?"

"I can't say that I have." Sangyeon replies, smiling. 

They continue to look around the room, until Hyunjoon notices something.

"Hey, Daddy, you didn't have that blanket before." Hyunjoon confronts Jacob, as he walks over to him.

Hyunjoon yanks off the blanket to see Sunwoo.

"Haha! We found you!"

They play one more game of hide-and-seek before it is time to go home. Juyeon and Youngjae say goodbye to the Baes before walking back home. 

"I had so much fun today Daddy, I can't wait to go back."

"I'm glad. We set up another play date for next week." 

"Yay!"

Suddenly, Youngjae remembers something important.

"Daddy, can I have a dog?" He asks.

"Not right now, Youngjae. Maybe when you're older you can get a dog." 

There is silence for a few seconds before Youngjae asks if he is old enough now.

"It has only been a few seconds, the answer is still no."

"Now?" He asks again.

"I said no."

This exchange goes on until they get home and Juyeon takes Eric to his room for his nap. Thankfully, he falls asleep pretty quickly. 


	8. The Park

"Youngjae, where are you?" Juyeon calls out from the hallway, looking for his son. 

"I'm in here Daddy!"

Juyeon follows the sound of his voice to his own room. 

"Look, I'm dressed up as you." Eric says, showing off the over sized blue shirt he is wearing. 

"Awww, you look just like me." Juyeon replies, picking Eric up and resting him on his lap. 

"Will you wear this outfit today? I'm wearing the same and I want us to match." 

"Sure. I see you did a great job cleaning your room."

"I love cleaning! I hate messes." 

Juyeon is shocked that a child this age would love to clean, but he is happy that his son likes to be organized and does not make big messes like most children his age would. 

"Well, Daddy is very proud and it looks like you are ready to go to the park right now. Give Daddy his clothes so he can get ready too." 

Eric hands over his father's clothes and goes downstairs to put on his socks and shoes. 

At the park, the first thing that Eric wants to do is go down the slide. He runs up the stairs and slides down just as fast. 

"Dad, did you see me? I went down so fast!" 

"Yeah, you were so fast I barely saw you." Juyeon replies. 

Eric then moves onto the monkey bars. His dad helps him up and watches him closely in case he loses his grip, since he does not go on the bars that often. When his arms do get tired, he asks Juyeon to push him on the swings next. 

"Daddy, can you please push me really high?"

"Alright, but hold on tight, okay?"

Eric nods. 

Juyeon pushes Eric very high, but not so high that he could fall or get hurt. Several minutes later, the swings slows to a stop. As soon as Eric gets off the swing, a dog runs up to him.

"Daddy, look a doggie!"

The collie licks Eric's face. 

"He likes me." Eric giggles. 

A man comes running over to the dog soon after. 

"I'm sorry, this dog just got away from me. He is very strong." The man says, picking up the dog's leash. 

Juyeon stands back up to look at the man. He is stunned by what his eyes meet. The man has milky skin, big brown eyes, jet black hair, and such a sweet smile. 

"It's okay." Juyeon eventually says, snapping out of his trance. 

"My son really likes dogs anyway."

"He can pet him if he likes."

Juyeon sits down next to Eric and tells him he his allowed to pet the dog. Eric pets the collie for a while and comments on how cute he is. 

"So, what is your dog's name?"

"Oh, his name Billy, but he isn't my dog."

"Well, what is your name?"

"Choi Chanhee. What about you?" The man answers.

"That's a pretty name. I'm Lee Juyeon."

Juyeon wants to keep talking to Chanhee, but his son interrupts. 

"Dad, can we play tag?"

"Of course. It was nice meeting you Chanhee, thank you for letting us pet the dog." 

"Thank you mister." Eric says. 

"You are both very welcome. Have a nice day." 

Juyeon just stares at Chanhee as he walks away, wishing he could still see him and talk to him. 

"Daddy, tag. Please?" Eric blurts out, tugging on Juyeon's sleeve. 

"Right. Sorry son."

A couple of days later, Juyeon is taking his lunch break in the same park when a familiar dog runs up to him. 

"Hey, aren't you-"

"Oh, hello again." Chanhee says, grabbing the dog's leash. 

"Hi, Chanhee."

"Hello, Juyeon." He smiles. 

"You have a lot of dogs with you this time." Juyeon notes, looking at the pack of five dogs. 

"Yeah, I'm a dog walker and today is a pretty busy day it seems. I guess you come here often, huh?"

"Yeah, it is close to home and where I work."

"Hey, I live around here too, in the apartment building around the corner." 

"Really? How come I haven't seen you around before? I'm sure I would remember seeing you." Juyeon says. 

"I moved here not too long ago. I've been here for less than a month."

"Oh. You know, I wouldn't mind showing you around town sometime. Maybe show you some restaurants and shops." Juyeon offers.

"Like a date?"

Juyeon is glad that Chanhee has caught on to his hints. He hasn't been on a date in years, so hopefully he isn't taking things too fast and Chanhee will be okay with a date. 

"If you're okay with that." Juyeon answers.

"I'd like that."

They exchange numbers before continuing to talk. 

When Juyeon returns to work, Jaehyun and Younghoon notice how happy he is. 

"What happened? Did you get a winning lottery ticket while you were out?"

"No, I met this cute guy at the park the other day and I saw him again today. We talked, I got his number, and we are going on a date next weekend." Juyeon explains.

"Whoa." Younghoon comments. 

"You're finally getting back out there again."

"Looks like Youngjae will have a second dad soon."

"Not that fast, we just met. I want to see how things go first." Juyeon responds. 


	9. For the First Time in 4Ever

Juyeon is both excited and nervous for his date with Chanhee. This is his first date in a while, he hasn't had time to date since he had Youngjae. 

"How do I look?" Juyeon asks Kevin, who will be watching his son. 

"Pretty spiffy. Good luck on your date, I know that it has been a while." 

"I know, it's been years. Take good care of Youngjae." Juyeon responds. 

Juyeon hugs Eric before he leaves. 

"When will you be back, Daddy?" 

"When you wake up tomorrow morning, Daddy will be right here." Juyeon answers. 

"Okay, have fun on your date. I love you." Eric says, kissing his cheek. 

"I love you too, be good to your uncle." 

Juyeon leaves, driving to Chanhee's apartment to pick him up for the date. He knocks on the door and his eyes meet a beautiful sight. Which is Chanhee, he is wearing a deep blue shirt and black pants that fit him perfectly. Even more stunning than his outfit is that beautiful smile of his, it is like he has the face of an angel. Juyeon's jaw drops, but he catches himself. 

"Hi, Chanhee. You look really nice."

"Thank you, Juyeon, so do you." 

"Thanks. I got you this flower." Juyeon replies, handing him a red tulip. 

"It's beautiful, just let me put it in some water and then we can go." 

For their date, they walk around town like Juyeon promised. Juyeon shows Chanhee stores, a pet shelter, and the many restaurants there are around town. They eventually decide to stop by a cafe. They share a slice of strawberry cake and both of them have tea. 

"So you like strawberries too?"

"Yeah, especially on cake. It makes it looks so pretty." Chanhee replies. 

They continue to talk about things, including work and hobbies until it starts to get late. 

"Well, we should probably get going before the shop closes." Juyeon says, with his hand out for Chanhee. 

Chanhee accepts and they walk out of the cafe together so they can head home. 

"I hope you liked seeing the town tonight." Juyeon says, as they are outside of Chanhee's apartment. 

"I did, we really should do this again. Maybe we can see a movie or have dinner together? Even just going for a walk would be fine."

Juyeon is happy to hear that Chanhee would like to spend time with him again. He really had a lot of fun with Chanhee, he has such a warm personality that Juyeon really likes to be around. 

"I would love to do this again. When you have time, just call me." 

Chanhee nods and is silent for a second. Then he bites his lips before looking down. 

"Juyeon.... can I.... kiss you?" Chanhee asks, now looking into Juyeon's eyes again. 

"I know asking it might seem weird, but I need you to lean down to reach your face since you are so tall and I didn't want to surprise you by bringing you down to my height." Chanhee continues. 

"Of course we can kiss."

Juyeon leans down and kisses Chanhee's lips softly.

"Good night, Chanhee." Juyeon says, after breaking the kiss.

"Good night, Juyeon." 

Juyeon's date could not have been anymore perfect. For the first time in a long time, Juyeon feels that there is hope for him in the dating world. 


	10. Boy Meets Dad's Boyfriend

After a while of dating Chanhee, Juyeon decides that he should meet Eric before they move things any further in their relationship. So they decide to have dinner together at Juyeon's house one Saturday evening. Honestly, Eric is not excited to meet Chanhee. To him, Chanhee is the man that takes away some of Juyeon's attention. Eric thinks that Juyeon's attention should mostly be for him and only him, he is very attached to his dad. Eric makes up a plan to try and chase Chanhee away so that more of Juyeon's attention will go back to Eric like before. 

"He's here! He's here!" Juyeon exclaims, running excitedly to the front door. 

Juyeon opens the front door to see his boyfriend, looking beautiful like always. 

"Hi honey." Juyeon says. 

"Hey handsome." Chanhee replies, before Juyeon kisses him. 

He enters the house and Juyeon closes the door behind him.

"So, where is Youngjae?"

"He is upstairs playing in his room. Youngjae, come down here it's time for dinner." 

Eric comes down and walks over to them.

"Hi, Youngjae. Your dad has told me so much about you." 

"Only daddy calls me Youngjae." Eric responds, hiding behind Juyeon's leg. 

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like me to call you Eric?"

Eric just continues to hide behind his dad.

"I'm sorry, he is usually such a talkative boy." Juyeon says. 

"Maybe he is just shy since it is our first meeting." 

"Well, dinner is ready. I made spaghetti, so follow me to the kitchen." 

Juyeon tries to walk, but Eric just won't let go. 

"Youngjae, you have to let go now." 

"Carry me." Eric responds, with his arms out. 

Juyeon picks his son up and carries him to the kitchen, setting him down in his chair. Eric hops out of his chair and sits on Juyeon's lap. 

"No, Youngjae. You have to sit in your own chair like a big boy." 

Eric knows no means no with Juyeon, but he is still determined to have all of Juyeon's attention and hopefully drive Chanhee away. So, during dinner he eats his spaghetti with his hands. 

"Youngjae, don't eat like that, you'll get all messy."

"Feed me." Eric says, mouth open to show his chewed up food.

"You can feed yourself. You're a big boy, remember?"

Eric keeps eating with his hands. 

"Youngjae, eat with your fork or you are not getting any dessert." 

Eric loves dessert, but he loves his dad even more, so he continues his plan of getting Chanhee to leave by being messy and even throwing his food around. 

After dinner, Eric does not get to have his usual ice cream. 

"But daddy." Eric whines.

"No, Youngjae. Daddy told you to behave and you did not listen, so you don't get any ice cream." 

After eating dessert and watching some television, it is time for Chanhee to go. 

"I had fun tonight." Juyeon says to Chanhee, as they stand by the front door together. 

"Me too. It was nice getting to spend time together and meeting Eric." 

"Call me when you get home." Juyeon says. 

Chanhee nods and they kiss before he goes. Juyeon closes the front door and walks up to his son's room. 

"Okay Youngjae, time for your bath."

"Already?"

"Yes, you are covered in sauce. You have to take your bath now." Juyeon replies, taking Eric's hand and leading him to the bath. 

Eric goes through his bath toys as Juyeon draws his bath, making sure the water is warm and that he adds Eric's favorite Elmo bath soap. 

When the bath is ready, Juyeon places Eric and his bath toys in. 

"Daddy, look at how fast my boat can race." Eric says, moving the boat in his hands across the water as fast as he can.

"That's a new record." 

Eric smiles, happy that his dad also sees how fast the boat is. 

"So, how do you like Mr. Chanhee?" Juyeon brings up.

"He's alright." Eric answers, not wanting to say something that might offend his father. 

"I'm happy to hear that. I knew you would like him. In fact, you are probably going to seeing more of him. Mr. Chanhee and daddy are going to spending time here together from time to time." 

"What? He is going to be with my daddy? In my house? Right in front of me?" Eric thinks.

Well, that's not a problem. That just makes it easier for Eric to annoy Chanhee and ensure that he drives him away forever. 


	11. Date Night

"Good night, Youngjae. I love you." Juyeon says, as he tucks Eric in. 

"I love you too, Daddy." Eric replies, as Juyeon kisses his forehead. 

Juyeon leaves his son's room and goes down stairs, waiting for Chanhee to show up. 

When he finally arrives, they watch some television together. 

Eric is asleep while all of this is happening, but something wakes him up. It is like his Chanhee senses are tingling. Eric gets out of bed and goes to the staircase to see that Chanhee is in the living room with his father. Eric needs to get Juyeon's attention away from him again, so he comes up with a plan to pretend he had a nightmare. 

"Daddy! Daddy!" Eric yells, running down the stairs to Juyeon. 

"What's wrong, Youngjae? Did we wake you?"

"I had a nightmare, monsters were chasing me." Eric explains, holding onto Juyeon. 

Juyeon picks up Eric and hugs him, rubbing his back to calm him down. Juyeon mouths the words sorry to Chanhee, but he mouths back that it is okay. 

"Will you sing to me Daddy?" 

"Of course I will."

Juyeon sings Eric's lullaby, which is you are my sunshine. Since Eric is still awake afterwards, Juyeon decides to make him some warm milk. 

"Can you watch Youngjae while I go to the kitchen?" Juyeon asks, handing Eric over to Chanhee. 

"Sure." 

Juyeon only takes a few steps before Eric starts calling out to him.

"No! I want my Daddy." Eric whines. 

"Alright, you can help me. I will be right back, Chanhee." 

Juyeon picks Eric up, carrying him to the kitchen and sets him down at the table. 

"Sit here while I make some warm milk for you, okay?" 

Eric nods. 

When Juyeon finishes making the milk, he hands it to Eric and makes sure he drinks all of it. 

"Do you feel any better?"

"A little. Will you hold me? I'm still scared." 

Juyeon picks his son up and hugs him, trying to calm him down by singing to him. 

"Juyeon, is everything alright?" Chanhee, asks as he enters the kitchen. 

"Yeah, he's just a little scared still." 

Eric clings to Juyeon even tighter, making sure he won't let go. 

"You sing really beautifully." Chanhee comments, as he sits down next to Juyeon. 

"Really? I never thought of my singing as good, I just do it to help Youngjae fall asleep." Juyeon blushes. 

It is difficult for Eric to not fall asleep while Juyeon is holding him and after drinking an entire glass of warm milk, but he manages to hold on so he can take as much of Juyeon's attention as possible. Chanhee has to go home eventually, as long as he can stay up until then, Eric will have successfully ruined their time together. 

"Youngjae, do you feel sleepy yet?" Juyeon asks.

"Not yet daddy."

Juyeon sighs, since Eric usually doesn't take this long to fall asleep. Juyeon now has to go to his last resort. 

"I guess that means I have to take you on a car ride then." 

"Do you want to come with us, Chanhee? You don't have to if you don't want to." Juyeon adds.

"Sure, I'd love to go." 

Juyeon gets his keys and all three of them walk out to the car together to go for a drive. They drive around the neighborhood while one of Eric's sleepy time CDs plays in the car. Eric tries to fight the urge to fall asleep, but after about three lullabies, he finally gives in and goes off to dreamland. Juyeon looks into the mirror and sees that his son is asleep, so he drives back home and pulls into the driveway. He thinks that now is the perfect time to talk to Chanhee in case Eric wakes up while he carries him to his bed. 

"I'm sorry that our date turned out this way. It usually isn't this hard for me to get Youngjae to sleep." Juyeon says. 

"That's okay. He probably had a terrible nightmare. You're such a great dad for doing all of this for him." 

"I know we only have a little bit of time left before you have to go home, so I was wondering if you would like to have another date next Friday night? Youngjae has a sleepover at his friend's house that weekend, so we would be alone. We could have our own sleep over at my house." Juyeon suggests. 

"Just the two of us?"

"Yes, just the two of us from Friday evening to Saturday at noon." Juyeon confirms. 

"I would love that so much, of course I will." 

"Great, I can't wait." Juyeon replies, before he kisses Chanhee. 


	12. Slumber Parties

Tonight will be Eric's first slumber party ever, the first time that he and Juyeon will be apart for a whole night. Juyeon will miss Eric and he wants him to stay, but Eric seems very excited to go, so his nerves calm down a bit. Eric is so excited in fact, that he starts getting ready hours in advance. 

"Youngjae, the slumber party isn't for another three hours." Juyeon informs his son.

"I know, but I want to make sure I am prepared. Plus, I just can't wait."

Juyeon chuckles at how cute Eric is.

"Can daddy help you pack?"

Eric nods. 

"You packed your clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, sleeping bag, and a pillow. It looks like you have everything that you need, except for this."

Juyeon goes over to Eric's bed and picks up his stuffed dog. 

"Daddy, I won't need that. I'm a big boy and I don't have scary nightmares anymore." Eric tells his dad. 

"You never know Youngjae, this is a new experience for you. It might be helpful to have something familiar to you, like one of your favorite toys." 

"Okay, I will take Arnold, but that does not mean that I will need him." Eric replies, placing the toy in his bag.

"I know, my little angel. Now come on, it's time for dinner so go wash up." 

"Yes sir." 

About an hour after dinner, it is time for Eric to go to his sleep over. 

"Hello, Juyeon and Eric. Hyunjoon and Sunwoo are very happy about the sleepover tonight." Jacob greets them once they get to the house. 

"So is Youngjae, he has been talking about it all day. I'll pick him up at noon tomorrow."

"Yep, see you again at noon."

"Goodbye Youngjae, daddy will see you tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you too." 

Juyeon kisses Eric's forehead and hugs him before saying a final goodbye and leaving. 

A few minutes after Juyeon gets home, there is a ring at the door. Oh, that's right, he gets to spend the night with Chanhee, He almost forgot due to thinking about his son's first night away. 

"Hey honey." Juyeon answers the door. 

"Hi sweetheart." 

"So are you ready for tonight?" Juyeon asks, as Chanhee enters the house. 

"Yeah. What are we going to do?"

"Anything you want, anything." Juyeon replies, kissing Chanhee. 

The first thing they do is bake some cookies and then they watch a movie together while cuddling on the couch. 

Halfway through the movie, it seems like Chanhee is starting to fall asleep.

"Chanhee, are you getting sleepy?"

"A little bit. I had a lot of dogs to walk today." 

"We can go to bed now if you want to." 

"Let's finish the movie first." Chanhee suggests. 

"Alright." 

While Juyeon and Chanhee are just sitting on the couch at their slumber party, Eric and his friends are having a blast.

"Pillow fight!" Sunwoo exclaims, in between a video game match. 

The other two boys pick up pillows and start hitting Sunwoo, and eventually end up going after each other. They hit each other with pillows and chase each other around the room. 

"Whoa boys, let's pause the fight for a minute." Sangyeon says as he and Jacob enter the living room.

"We made you guys some cupcakes." Jacob says, placing a plate on the table. 

"Have fun boys, bedtime is in a couple of hours." Sangyeon tells them, as he and Jacob leave the room. 

"Yummy, cupcakes!" Hyunjoon exclaims, running over to the cupcakes to pick one up and begin licking the icing. 

"Daddy always makes the best sweets." Sunwoo says, as he also picks up a cupcake."

"Here, Eric try one. They are really good." 

Eric takes the cupcake and eats it, they are even better than the ones his dad makes. 

"These are really yummy." Eric states. 

"We should play Connect Four and then go back to playing video games." Hyunjoon suggests.

"Why, is it because you were losing?" Sunwoo asks.

"No, I just really like Connect Four." Hyunjoon lies, sticking his tongue out at his brother. 

After finishing the cupcakes, they play three rounds of Connect Four, and Hyunjoon wins all of them.

"I knew you just wanted to play so you could win."

"Let's play Mario Kart now." Eric suggests. 

Sunwoo puts Mario Kart into the console and they play until bedtime. 

"Okay boys, time to go to sleep." 

The three of them get into their sleeping bags before Jacob and Sangyeon turn off the light and tell them good night. 

Eric usually falls asleep very quickly, but it is taking him a while tonight. Suddenly, he remembers what his dad packed for him.

Eric goes over to his bag and takes out the stuffed dog that Juyeon told him to pack earlier. As soon as Eric is back in his sleeping bag and hugging his dog, he falls asleep. 

At the Lee residence, Chanhee and Juyeon are also about to go to sleep. The two of them lay in Juyeon's bed, facing each other. 

"I know it is a little bit early to go to bed, but there is nothing wrong with too much sleep or getting up early. Right?" Chanhee says.

"It's okay, it not too early. Like you said, we could get up earlier and then spend more time together in the morning." 

Juyeon continues to look into Chanhee's soft brown eyes, his eyes are so shiny and beautiful. Looking at Chanhee like this makes Juyeon realize how much he means to him and how special he is.

"Juyeon, what's wrong? Do I have something on my face?"

"Nothing is wrong. It's just.... I want to tell you that I love you." Juyeon answers.

"What?" 

"I love you, Choi Chanhee." Juyeon repeats.

"Oh my gosh, Juyeon. I love you too." 

Juyeon is overjoyed, he immediately pulls Chanhee in for a kiss. Admitting his feelings was definitely worth it. 


	13. Runaway

Juyeon walks into the office that morning with a smile on his face so wide that Younghoon and Jaehyun quickly take notice. 

"Why are you so happy on a Monday morning?" Younghoon asks. 

"Well, over the weekend I told Chanhee that I love him and he told me the same." 

"Good going, Juyeon."

"Yeah, things with you and Chanhee seem to be going pretty well." Jaehyun chimes in. 

"They are. He is the perfect man. He loves watching movies, going on walks at the park, and baking."

"He sounds just like you."

"Yeah, we have some things in common. We're going on a picnic together this weekend and I'm bringing Youngjae."

"Youngjae likes him?" Jaehyun asks. 

"He said he is pretty alright, so I think he just needs a bit more time to warm up to him and then they'll be close." 

"Sounds like Chanhee is the one, huh?"

"Maybe, but I don't want to rush things."

Little does Juyeon know, Eric is talking about Chanhee to his friends too. 

"I don't like that my daddy is spending time with this Mr. Chanhee guy. I want him to spend all his time with me again." Eric says, as he adds sand to the bucket. 

"Then just make him leave your dad alone." Sunwoo suggests. 

"How?"

They all sit and think for a moment. 

"Oh! You can spray him with a hose. Sunwoo did that to me once and it made me mad, maybe if you spray Mr. Chanhee long enough he will get so mad that he will never come back." Hyunjoon proposes. 

"That might work, I will try it this weekend." 

That Saturday afternoon, Juyeon, Chanhee, and Eric all go on a picnic in the park. 

"Youngjae, here is your turkey and cheese sandwich." 

"Thank you, Daddy."

"And here is your ham and cheese sandwich, Chanhee."

"Thank you, Juyeon."

"So, how was your week?" Juyeon asks Chanhee.

"The usual. The dogs I watched didn't give me too much trouble, and I got to watch the cutest lab puppy." 

Juyeon chuckles, thinking about how cute the dog must have been. 

To get Juyeon's attention, Eric smashes the rest of the sandwich into his mouth so he makes a mess. 

"Youngjae, you're going to get messy. Look, you have mayo on your face." Juyeon says.

Chanhee begins to wipe Eric's face, but he whines for Juyeon to do it instead. 

"Calm down, Youngjae. I'm right here." Juyeon responds, as he wipes his son's face. 

"There, all clean. Do you want some fruit now? That shouldn't be too messy." 

"Yes please." Eric answers.

Juyeon reaches into the basket and hands Eric a bag of grapes. Eric crawls into Juyeon's lap and takes the bag. 

"Thank you." 

"You're welcome my little prince."

Eric eats his fruit quietly while Chanhee and Juyeon talk. 

"Oh, I made this ice cream cake for dessert. I didn't bring it though because I don't want it to melt. Want to go home and see it?"

"Sure." Chanhee responds. 

Yes, the perfect chance to spray Chanhee with the hose. 

When they arrive at the house, Eric turns the hose on and waits for Chanhee to walk up to the door. Once he is close enough, Eric sprays him with the hose, causing him to fall to the floor. 

"Lee Youngjae, stop that right now." 

Eric shuts the hose off. 

"Go to your room right now young man!" Juyeon orders, taking the hose away from Eric. 

Eric runs to his room and slams the door. Juyeon seems mad at him. What if this makes him love Chanhee even more? What if he forgets all about Eric? He can't stand having Chanhee take his dad away, but it seems like the war is over and he has lost. 

"What if daddy hates me now? I guess I should leave." Eric thinks. 

Eric exits his room and sneaks out of the back door. 

"Goodbye daddy." He waves outside of the house before walking away. 

Eric decides to go to his uncle Kevin's house. Since he is too short to reach the bell, he knocks on the door.

"Eric, what are you doing here by yourself? Did your daddy drop you off?" Kevin questions, after opening the door. 

"Ummm..... yes." 

"Your daddy usually comes with you though. Where is he?"

"Fine, I ran away. Please don't tell my dad." 

"Sorry, Eric. I have to tell him. He will be worried." 

Eric can't let Kevin do that, even if Juyeon does want him back home we will be mad that Eric left without permission. Eric runs away before Kevin can stop him. 

"Eric! Get back here!" 

Eric is just too fast and energetic, he outruns Kevin and hides behind a tree. When the coast is clear, he continues walking. 

At home, Juyeon helps Chanhee dry off. 

"I'm so sorry, Chanhee. Youngjae never acts like this. I have no idea what got into him. I'll go talk to him right now."

Juyeon goes to Eric's room, but doesn't see him. 

"Youngjae, where are you?" 

He looks under the bed, in the closet, and in the toy box, but there is no sign of Eric. Then, his phone rings. 

"Hello?"

"Juyeon, it's me. Eric came by here earlier and I think he is running away from home. I tried to catch him, but he was too fast." 

"What?! Do you know where he went?"

"I'm not sure. I can help you search."

"Okay, thanks." Juyeon hangs up. 

"Is something wrong?" Chanhee asks, as Juyeon walks downstairs. 

"Youngjae ran away from home. I have to go find him. Can you stay and call if he comes back?"

"Of course." 

Eric keeps walking until he reaches the house, luckily for him Hyunjoon and Sunwoo are near the gate. 

"Guys!" He whispers. 

They look over and go to him. 

"Hey, Eric. What are you doing here?"

"I'm leaving home."

"You are? You should come stay with us." Hyunjoon suggests.

"For as long as you want, or at least until our parents catch you." 

"We'll have to sneak you in."

"How?"

After a few minutes, they have a plan. 

"Daddy! Daddy! I got a boo boo!" Hyunjoon yells, running to Jacob who is planting some flowers near the house.

"Aww, where does it hurt?"

Sunwoo and Eric sneak into the open front door behind Jacob's back. 

"On my arm." Hyunjoon points. 

Since Jacob sees no cuts or scrapes, he kisses it better. 

"Is that better?"

Hyunjoon nods and hugs him before going inside. All three of them reunite in Hyunjoon and Sunwoo's room. 

"You can hide in our room until we convince our parents to let you stay." 

"Okay." 

As they are upstairs playing, Sangyeon returns from work.

"Hi, Jacob." Sangyeon greets his husband as he enters the kitchen. 

"Hi honey. How was work?" 

"Good, I sold five cars."

"That's great." 

"Yeah. How about you?"

"Just cleaning and gardening. Oh, that reminds me, I forgot to put the boys clothes away."

"That's okay, I can do it. Where is it?"

"On the dryer. Thank you sweetheart."

Sangyeon goes to get the clothes and goes upstairs to put them away. 

"Oh no, dad is coming." Sunwoo realizes. 

Hyunjoon and Sunwoo quickly hide Eric in the toy chest. 

"Hello, boys." 

"Hi." They reply, as Sangyeon puts the clothes away. 

Sangyeon sees that there are tons of toys on the floor. 

"Boys, you know your toys belong in the bin." 

Sangyeon lifts the lid to show them, but then sees that Eric is hiding inside. 

"Eric, what are you doing in there?"

"Uhhh...."

"Sangyeon, I-"

Jacob pauses when he sees Eric.

"Eric, what are you doing here?"

"There's no play date today?" Sangyeon asks Jacob. 

"No. Eric, does your daddy know that you are here?"

Eric shakes his head. 

"I will call him." Sangyeon says, heading downstairs. 

"Did you walk all the way here?"

"Yes."

"It is so warm outside. Do you want a popsicle?" 

"Yes please." 

"Come on boys, let's go to the kitchen." Jacob says. 

As Jacob gives them popsicles, Sangyeon calls Juyeon. 

"Hello?"

"Hello, Juyeon?"

"No, this is his boyfriend, Chanhee. Juyeon went out to search for his son." 

"Can you call him and tell him that I found Eric? He is friends with my sons and he is at our house." 

Chanhee thanks Sangyeon and calls Juyeon right after. 

"Chanhee? Did Youngjae come back?"

"No, but the Baes called and said that he is at their house." 

Juyeon lets out a sigh of relief and immediately heads over there. 

"That must be your daddy." Jacob says, when he hears the doorbell ring.

He takes Eric's hands and leads him from the kitchen to the front door. As soon as Jacob opens the door, Juyeon sees Eric and hugs him. 

"I'm so happy that I finally found you." Juyeon tells him. 

Eric hugs him back and Juyeon picks him up.

"Jacob, thank you so much for watching over my son and calling to tell me he was here. I can't thank you guys enough."

"It's fine. If we lost our boys we would be worried and want to locate them as soon as possible too." 

They tell each other to have a good day before Juyeon leaves to take Eric home. Juyeon is quiet the whole car ride home, which makes Eric worry. Is he really mad? What will he do?

When they do get home, Juyeon tells Chanhee that he has to cut the date short so he can deal with Eric. He completely understands and tells both of them goodbye before going home. Eric is nervous about what his dad will do, so he just says the first thing that comes to his mind.

"Daddy, do you hate me?" Eric questions, with tears starting to run down his face. 

"What? Youngjae, I would never hate you, you're the best son ever. I love you more than anything in this world, you are very important to me." Juyeon says, sitting down to match his son's height. 

"What would make you think such a thing?" Juyeon adds, wiping Eric's tears away. 

"I.... I'm just jealous. I feel like you will like Mr. Chanhee more than me and then he will get all of your attention." Eric explains. 

"Youngjae, that will never happen, I promise. You will always be the most important person in my life, no matter what. Just because I spend time with Mr. Chanhee that doesn't mean that I will stop spending time with you. You will always come first. Got it?" 

Eric is relieved and joyful to hear that Mr. Chanhee will not replace him and that he will always get to spend time with his dad. 

"Got it. I love you Daddy." Eric says, hugging Juyeon.

"I love you too." Juyeon replies, hugging his son tightly and ruffling his hair. 

"Now, there is one more thing that we need to discuss. You know that it is against the rules to run away from home, right?"

Eric nods. 

"So it is only fair that you receive punishment for breaking the rules then."

Eric nods. 

"That means, you are grounded for two days, one for each hour you made daddy worry. That means you can't watch television or play video games for those two days."

"Yes sir."

"One more thing. Will you promise me something?"

"What is it daddy?"

"Please promise me you will never do this again." Juyeon answers. 

"I promise."

Eric sincerely intends on keeping that promise, because running away was scary and he never wants to leave or worry his loving father again. 


	14. Doctor Eric & Nurse Chanhee

Stressing out about Eric being missing must have weakened Juyeon's immune system or maybe he just has bad luck, because he gets the cold a week later. 

"Daddy, wake up! It's morning time." Eric says, as he climbs into his father's bed. 

Juyeon does not want to open his eyes due to his headache. 

"Daddy, are you sleeping?" Eric calls out, opening Juyeon's eye. 

"No, I'm just resting my eyes." Juyeon replies, removing Eric's hand. 

"What's wrong Daddy?" Eric asks, sensing something is wrong. 

"Daddy just has a cold. I know I always make you pancakes on Saturdays, but can you do me a favor?"

"Anything for you Daddy." 

"I want you to make yourself a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Daddy knows you can do it, you're a big boy, right?"

"'Yes sir." 

Eric makes a proper bowl of cereal, and as he is eating he comes up with the idea to help Juyeon get better. He puts his dishes away and goes upstairs to get dressed in his doctor outfit. 

"Daddy, I'm here to fix your cold." Eric says, entering the room. 

"Awww. Youngjae, you look adorable. You don't need to watch over Daddy though, I'll be fine."

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" Eric asks, sitting next to Juyeon. 

"Well, can you bring me some water?"

Eric runs to kitchen as soon as Juyeon finishes his sentence and comes back with a glass of water in a minute. 

"Here, Daddy." Eric says, handing Juyeon the cup. 

"Thank you."

"Anything else? Do you need medicine too?"

"That's it. Now, I want you to go play in your room. Daddy doesn't want you to get sick too. I will be fine as long as I rest." 

Eric reluctantly goes to his room to play. 

"Teddy, I'm worried about Daddy. What if he is really sick?"

Eric then hears Juyeon cough in the distance. 

"That sounded bad. Maybe he thinks I'm too little for such a big cold. I need to call for help." 

Eric calls for his uncle first, but he does not pick up, so he decides to call Mr. Chanhee. He is a grown up, he has to know something about taking care of someone stubborn like Juyeon. 

"Hello?" 

"Mr. Chanhee, it's me, Eric. I called you because my Daddy is sick and I need help taking care of him. Can you please help me?" 

"Sure, I'll be over soon." 

"Thank you so much, Mr. Chanhee." 

As Eric hangs up the phone, he is relieved that someone will be here to help him. While he is eager to take care of his father, he is not completely sure of what to do, he has never taken care of a sick person before, so having help is an amazing thing. 

About half an hour later, Chanhee comes over with a few things to help Juyeon with his cold. 

"Hi, Mr. Chanhee." Eric says, letting Chanhee in. 

"Hello, Eric. Awww, you're doctor outfit is so adorable." 

"Thank you. I can lead you to Daddy." Eric replies, taking Chanhee's hand and leading him to Juyeon's room. 

They walk in to see Juyeon sitting up in bed, coughing and surrounded by papers. 

"Juyeon, are you working?"

"Chanhee, what are you doing here?"

"I called him to help me take care of you, Daddy." Eric informs his dad. 

"Juyeon, you should be resting, not working." 

"But if I'm going to be laying here I might as well get some work done." 

"You need to rest so you can get better." Chanhee says, setting the papers on Juyeon's desk across the room.

"But-"

"Please, Daddy?" Eric begs, with a sad face on. 

Juyeon instantly give in upon seeing Eric's expression. 

"Okay, if you really want Daddy to rest, then I will." 

"Did you take any medicine?" Chanhee questions. 

"No."

"I can get it!" Eric exclaims, running to the medicine cabinet and getting the cough syrup. 

"Here." Eric hands it to Chanhee. 

"Thank you, Eric." 

Chanhee pours the medicine into the tiny cup and gives it to Juyeon. Once he drinks it, Chanhee asks him if he has had breakfast yet.

"No, I'm not hungry."

"But you have to eat, or you might make your cold worse. I will go make some oatmeal for you." 

"Can I help?" Eric asks.

"Sure." Chanhee replies. 

Eric jumps off the bed and follows Chanhee to the kitchen. 

They make the oatmeal for Juyeon and he actually ends up eating all of it. 

"You should take a nap now, Daddy." Eric suggests. 

"This early in the day?"

"Eric is right. You need as much rest as possible to help you get better, so you really should take a nap." 

"Fine." 

"Good night, Daddy." Eric says, about to kiss Juyeon on the cheek. 

"No, not too close. Daddy doesn't want you to get sick too." 

"Okay." Eric says, giving Juyeon a quick kiss on the forehead. 

"Come on Eric, let's leave Daddy alone to sleep."

"Wait. Can you watch over Eric and give him his lunch at noon?" Juyeon calls out before they leave.

"Of course." 

"Thank you." Juyeon replies, as they exit the room. 

"Okay, Eric. What do you want to do?" 

"Can we keep playing doctor? I need to make sure you are healthy too." 

"Alright. What do I need to do?" 

"Just sit down on the couch."

Chanhee does as told and Eric comes over to check his forehead.

"You aren't warm, so no fever." 

Eric then puts the stethoscope to check Chanhee's heartbeat. 

"And your heartbeat is normal." 

"You seem pretty healthy to me." Eric smiles.

"Well thank you, Eric." 

"Here is your lollipop." Eric says, handing Chanhee a lollipop from his doctor bag. 

"Awww, that is so cute. Thank you Eric."

"You're welcome."

"So, do you want to be a doctor when you grow up?"

"Yeah. Either a doctor, a scientist, or a lawyer like my daddy. Or a superhero." 

"I bet you'll do a great job at whichever one you choose." 

"Thank you. Mr. Chanhee, can we play legos now?" 

Eric and Chanhee play with the legos until it is lunch time. 

"Time for your lunch, Eric. What does your daddy usually give you?" 

"A sandwich and some fruit."

Chanhee makes Eric a ham and cheese sandwich and gives him an apple. 

"Can we bake cookies too?" Eric asks, as he eats his lunch. 

"How about, if you finish your lunch then we can bake my special chocolate chip cookies."

"Deal."

Eric eagerly finishes his lunch so he can get cookies, and patiently waits for them to cool when they are done. 

"Are they cool yet?"

"Just a few more minutes."

When those few minutes pass by, Eric runs to the kitchen. 

"Can I eat one now?" 

"Yes, you can have one now." 

Eric takes a cookie and is stunned when he tastes it.

"Oh my gosh, these are even better than the ones daddy makes." Eric says, shoving the rest of the cookie into his mouth and then grabbing another. 

Chanhee smiles in response. 

"I'm glad you think so." 

"Mr. Chanhee." Eric begins.

"Yes, Eric?"

"I'm sorry that I sprayed you with that hose. I was just jealous that you were spending so much time with my daddy, so I lashed out. I'm sorry."

"I accept your apology. Also, you don't have to be jealous of me, Eric. Your daddy loves you very much and he will always love you, you're his son. He told me that you were his little prince the first time he held you when you were a baby."

"I know, daddy told me that." Eric smiles. 

"So, does this mean that we can be friends now?" Chanhee asks, with his hand out. 

"You got it." Eric says, shaking his hand in acceptance. 

"Does this mean you will play hide-and-seek with me?" Eric adds.

"Okay. Do you want to hide or seek?"

"I want to hide."

"I will start counting then."

Eric runs to the closet in the laundry room as soon as Chanhee starts counting. 

"Ready or not, here I come." Chanhee calls out, after twenty seconds. 

He eventually does find Eric in the laundry room. 

"I found you." 

"You win. Oh, it's one o'clock. Can we go watch television?" 

"Is your favorite show on?"

"Yeah, let's go watch it together." Eric responds, grabbing Chanhee's hand to lead him to the living room. 

They watch television together until falling asleep. 

Juyeon comes down to the kitchen to get some ice water, and sees the two of them on the couch. Eric is asleep in Chanhee's lap, who is also asleep. This sight makes Juyeon smile. 

"Looks like you two made up." Juyeon says to himself as he walks over to them. 

"Youngjae, I'm so proud of you for apologizing and starting to get along with Mr. Chanhee. I love you." Juyeon whispers to his sleeping son, before kissing his forehead. 

"And I love you too." Juyeon says to Chanhee, kissing his forehead as well. 


	15. How To

Eric is a growing boy, and as a growing boy he hits certain milestones. The one that he is currently working on is learning how to ride a bike. He first got interested in doing this when he found out that Hyunjoon and Sunwoo could ride their bikes a week ago. He wanted to join their bike riding adventures, so he asked his father to teach him. The first thing they need to do is go out and buy a bike that does not have training wheels on it. 

"How about this one, Youngjae? It has puppies on it, you love puppies." 

"Daddy, I need a cool bike. One that will go really fast. How about that one?" Eric says, pointing to an adult bike. 

"Youngjae, that bike is for grown-ups. It is too big for you, you can ride one like that when you do know how to ride and you're a big boy."

"Okay, Daddy." 

They continue to walk through the store until Eric finds the one that stands out to him. 

"That one, Daddy! Can I get that bike?" Eric asks, pointing to a children's bike that has a spaceship on the basket in the front. 

"It has a spaceship, it has to be fast." Eric adds. 

"Okay, I will get this bike for you." 

A week later, it is time for Eric's first lesson. 

"Helmet, knee pads, and elbow pads. You are ready to get on the bike." Juyeon says, as he makes sure Eric's helmet is secure. 

"Let's go then!"

Eric hops on the bike, but Juyeon tells him to hold on.

"What's wrong, Daddy?"

"You have to let me hold onto you to make sure you start off with proper balance."

"Nuh-uh, Daddy. I'm a big boy, I can ride this bike all the way to the end of the driveway. Watch me." 

Eric begins to pedal, but falls down a few seconds later. That just shows Juyeon that he will have to be holding onto Eric for a while, he needs to make sure he doesn't fall again anytime soon. 

"See? Daddy has to hold onto you for now, just until you get used to riding on your own. Good thing you have on safety equipment."

Juyeon looks over Eric to make sure he doesn't have any cuts or bruises before helping him get back onto the bike and holding onto him. 

"Okay, now you start pedaling and I will hold onto you to make sure you don't fall."

Eric nods and starts pedaling. As he is pedaling, he thinks that he can manage on his own, so he asks his dad to let go. 

"Okay Daddy, let go now." Eric says.

"Not yet Youngjae, you still need to get the hang of it." 

"But I do have the hang of it." 

Juyeon would rather continue to hold on then let Eric fall again, so he continues to hold onto him until they make it to the end of the sidewalk. 

"That was fun, wasn't it?" Now let's turn the bike around and head back home."

"Can I pedal by myself this time?" Eric asks. 

"Not yet, it is still too soon. Daddy will hold onto you."

Eric wants to try pedaling by himself, but Juyeon will just not allow it. His bike riding lessons go on like this for the next couple of weeks. Juyeon is moving too slowly for Eric. He wants to ride now, but his dad keeps saying no. It is not that Juyeon is not listening to Eric, he just wants to be cautious and make sure that Eric only starts to ride on his own when he is completely ready, that way Juyeon knows that he will not get hurt at all. 

"Daddy, can we take a break?" Eric asks, bored of being pushed around for the third time today. 

"Sure. I'll go get you some fruit snacks and juice." Juyeon responds, before going into the house. 

As Eric is sitting on the porch by himself, Chanhee comes by.

"Hi, Eric."

"Hi, Mr. Chanhee." Eric replies. 

"What's wrong?" Chanhee asks, looking at the sad expression on Eric's face. 

"I'm trying to learn how to ride a bike, but Daddy won't let me pedal by myself. I know he just wants to keep me safe, but I really want to try it by myself." 

"Oh, well I'm sure he will let you eventually." 

Suddenly, Eric gets an idea. 

"Wait, you are grown-up. You can help me learn how to ride a bike. Please? With Daddy's help he will be pushing me until I am a grown-up too." 

"Well, you do have on all your safety equipment. I'm sure your Daddy won't mind." 

Eric runs over to his bike and waits for Chanhee to come over and start pushing him. 

"Just tell me when you are ready for me to let go, okay?"

"Okay." Eric agrees. 

Eric begins to pedal and Chanhee holds onto him. After a moment, Eric tells him that it is okay to let go now. Thankfully for Eric, Chanhee actually does let go and he is allowed to ride the bike by himself. Eric manages to keep himself balanced and pedals his bike down the sidewalk. 

"Look, I'm riding the bike all by myself!" Eric exclaims. 

"Good job, Eric!" Chanhee encourages as Eric goes all the way to the end of the block and back. 

"Mr. Chanhee, did you see me? Did you see me?" Eric asks, as he goes back to where he started. 

"Yeah, I saw you. You are so good at riding a bike." 

"Sorry it took me so long, Youngjae. I got a call from uncle Younghoon-" Juyeon stops when he sees Eric riding his bike all by himself. 

Chanhee notices Juyeon watching Eric, so he intervenes. 

"I helped him. I held onto him and then he just took off by himself. He is a natural. I hope you aren't mad." 

"No, I'm not mad. I never knew he was that good, maybe I was holding him back too much. I just wanted him to be safe." 

"Juyeon, he has on his helmet and padding, he will be okay."

"I know, but he can still get cuts and scrapes." Juyeon says. 

"Yeah, but if he does you will be there for him, right?" Chanhee asks. 

"Of course."

"Then you don't need to worry, Eric will be okay. Look how happy he looks riding that bike."

At that moment, Juyeon realizes that he was holding Eric back and that he shouldn't have done that. He needs to begin to accept that fact that Eric is growing up, and that new abilities will come with that. Eric isn't a little baby anymore, he knows how to follow rules that will keep him safe and Juyeon does not need to worry so much anymore. Seeing Eric so happy on the bike makes Juyeon glad that Chanhee helped him out. 

"I guess you're right. I shouldn't have been holding him back like that. He needs to experience things on his own if he wants, and when he needs help I will be there for him. Thank you for helping, Chanhee." Juyeon responds, giving Chanhee a kiss on the cheek. 

When Eric sees that his dad is now back outside, he gets of the bike and runs over to him. 

"I'm sorry Dad, I know I shouldn't have gone on the bike without you around."

"It's alright, Youngjae. Daddy isn't upset, in fact I am really proud of you. You caught onto bike riding really fast and you are doing such a good job. You can ride on your own now, Daddy is sorry for holding you back." 

"Thank you, Daddy." Eric says, hugging Juyeon. 

"And thank you for your help, Mr. Chanhee." Eric adds, also giving Chanhee a hug. 

"You're welcome. Now, how about you show your dad your bike riding skills?" Chanhee replies. 

"Really? Can I?" Eric asks, turning to his dad.

"Yeah, I would love to see. Ride all the way to the end of the block and come back, I'll watch you." Juyeon tells him. 

Eric smiles and happily gets back on his bike, excited to show off his skills to his father. 


	16. The Preparation

Juyeon has been dating Chanhee for a long while now. So long, that he thinks now is the right time to ask Chanhee to marry him. Before he can even think about doing that, however, he needs to make sure that Eric is okay with the decision since getting married means that Eric will have a new dad living with him. He discusses it with him at lunch time one day.

"Eric, can daddy talk to you about something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Well, you like Mr. Chanhee right?" Juyeon asks.

"Yeah, he is really nice. At first I didn't really like him, but now that I got to know him I'm glad that you met him and I like spending time with him too." 

"I'm so glad you feel that way. What would you think if daddy married him?" Juyeon questions. 

"What does that mean?"

"You know that princess movie we watched where she marries the prince and they live in the castle together? Well, getting married means that Mr. Chanhee will live with us and he will be your second daddy."

"I get to have two daddies?"

"Yeah, just like Hyunjoon and Sunwoo have two daddies, you will have two daddies when Mr. Chanhee and I get married."

Eric thinks about it, having two daddies sounds like fun. Mr. Chanhee is so nice to him, he has taught him how to ride a bike, plays games with him, and makes great cookies. Having him as a dad would be great.

"I like that. When are you guys going to get married?"

"Probably several months from now. I have to get some things ready before we can get married and I have to ask Mr. Chanhee to marry me first."

"Are you gonna give him a ring just like the prince did in the movie?" Eric asks. 

"Yeah."

"Oh, I know just how you can ask him to marry you." Eric says. 

"Really? Tell daddy what your idea is." 

Even though it seems like taking advice from a kid is not a good idea, Juyeon wants to at least hear his son's idea. Plus, Juyeon does not have a set plan yet anyway. 


	17. Propose

A couple weeks after talking to Eric, Juyeon puts that plan that Eric came up with into action. It turns out that his son came up with a great way to propose to Chanhee. 

"Hello?" Chanhee answers. 

"Hi, Chanhee." 

"Oh, hi sweetheart. What's going on?"

"Nothing much. I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

"Can you do me a favor?" 

"Anything. What do you need?"

"I have to go to an important meeting all day next Saturday and I was wondering if you could watch Youngjae for me while I'm gone?" Juyeon answers. 

"Next Saturday? Sure, I can watch the little guy for you." Chanhee answers. 

"Thank you so much, you are the best. I love you."

"I love you too." Chanhee replies, before they both say bye and hang up. 

"Did he says yes?" Eric asks. 

"Yeah, step one of your plan is complete." Juyeon replies, ruffling Eric's hair. 

Eric is so excited, he cannot wait for next week to arrive. While he is at school on Friday, he tells his friends about it. 

"Why are you so excited today, Eric?" Hyunjoon asks. 

"Because my daddy is going to ask Mr. Chanhee to marry him. Now I will have two daddies."

"Having two daddies is the best." Sunwoo says.

"Yeah, you get double the love and attention. Daddies also make you cupcakes, take you camping, and going fishing with you." Hyunjoon adds. 

"You're going to love having two daddies." 

"I know." Eric agrees.

The next day, it is time for step two of the plan to propose to Chanhee. At noon, Chanhee comes by to watch Eric. 

"Hi honey. Thank you so much for watching Youngjae today for me."

"No problem. Have fun at work." Chanhee replies, kissing Juyeon before he leaves for work. 

As Chanhee closes the front door, Eric comes running down to greet him. 

"Mr. Chanhee! Mr. Chanhee!" Eric exclaims, running up to Chanhee for a hug. 

"Hello, Eric." Chanhee replies, hugging Eric back. 

The first thing they do is put together a puzzle. 

"Look, it's a spaceship!" Eric says, once they have finished the puzzle. 

"Yes, you did such a good job putting all the right pieces together." Chanhee praises. 

Just then, the cuckoo clock in the house goes off.

"It's noon, that means it is time for your lunch. What do you want today?" Chanhee says. 

"Mini corn dogs, please." 

"Alright, let's go to the kitchen." 

Chanhee gives Eric mini corn dogs, milk, and then some grapes for dessert. 

Afterwards, Eric wants to play hide-and-seek.

"Do you want to hide first or seek?"

"I wanna hide." Eric answers. 

"Okay. I will count to twenty while you hide." 

Eric nods and runs away to hide. 

When twenty seconds pass, Chanhee sets out to look for Eric. 

"Eric, where are you?" Chanhee calls out. 

He checks behind the couch, the front yard, and the cabinets in the kitchen, but Eric is not there. Eric is also not in his room, so Chanhee goes to Juyeon's room. As soon as he opens the door, he sees Juyeon standing in the middle of the room. 

"Juyeon? What are you doing home? I thought you were working today." 

"I'm not, that was just part of the plan." Juyeon answers, walking over to Chanhee to hold his hand.

"What plan?"

"Chanhee, I love you so much. You mean a lot to me and my son, I want the three of us to be together forever. I want to grow old with you, and always have you by my side." Juyeon begins. 

Juyeon gets down on one knee and then takes a ring out of his pocket. 

"Choi Chanhee, will you marry me?" 

"Oh my gosh. Yes, Juyeon. I will marry you." Chanhee replies, with tears in his eyes. 

Juyeon places the ring on Chanhee's finger and stands back up to wipe his tears away for him. Juyeon cups Chanhee's face a places a kiss on his lips. 

"I'm so glad you said yes." 

"How could I not say yes? I love you more than anything." Chanhee answers, before they kiss again. 

"Daddy, he said yes. Mr. Chanhee said yes! Does that mean I have two daddies now?" Eric says, running into the room. 

"Yes, it does." Juyeon smiles, picking Eric up.

"Hello, new dad." Eric says to Chanhee, with his hand out. 

"Hello, Eric." Chanhee responds, shaking Eric's hand. 

"Mr. Chanhee, now that you're married to my daddy and I can call you dad, you can call me Youngjae now instead of Eric." 

"Are you sure?" Chanhee asks. 

"Yes, I'm sure. Youngjae is what my dad calls me, and now that you are my dad too you can call me that." 

"Okay, Youngjae. I have one question for you though. Where were you hiding?" 

"In the laundry basket."

"Yup, that was all part of the plan. Thank you for giving me this great plan to ask Chanhee to marry me, Youngjae." Juyeon says. 

"You're welcome, Daddy." Eric replies, very proud of himself for coming up with a successful plan. 


	18. The Wedding

"Is my tie on straight?" Juyeon asks Kevin, pointing to his tie. 

"For the tenth time, Juyeon, your tie is on straight. Stop worrying so much, you look nice." Kevin responds. 

"Yeah, Daddy. You look very handsome, I bet Dad will think so too." Eric adds. 

"Thank you, Youngjae." Juyeon says, hugging his son. 

Juyeon looks at the clock and sees that it is almost time for the wedding to start. 

"Come on, it's almost time for the ceremony. You remember what you have to do, right, Youngjae?"

"Yes, I bring in the ring." Eric answers. 

"Good, now go sit with uncle Kevin until it is time for you to bring the ring." 

A few minutes later, it is time for the wedding to start. The music begins to play and Juyeon faces the door to watch Chanhee walk down the aisle. When the doors open, Juyeon is awestruck. His jaw drops at how gorgeous Chanhee is. The two of them are wearing matching suits, but Chanhee is wearing a blue bow tie, white gloves, a veil, and carrying a bouquet of flowers. Juyeon still has his jaw dropped when Chanhee reaches him, so he gently lifts Juyeon's chin to close his mouth for him. 

"You're so beautiful." Juyeon tells him. 

Chanhee blushes and smiles before thanking Juyeon. 

During the wedding, all Juyeon can think about is how excited he is to spend the rest of his life with Chanhee and be together forever. He is snapped out of his thoughts when it is time for him to say "I do". 

"Then you may kiss your husband." 

Juyeon lifts the veil and leans in to place a sweet kiss on Chanhee's lips. The party after the wedding goes by so fast, due to how much fun it is. Chanhee and Juyeon dance together, and the two of them dance with Eric. By the time the wedding is over and they get back home, it is time for Eric to go to bed. 

"Okay, Eric, go get your toys while I start your bath." 

"Yes, sir." Eric replies, going upstairs. 

"I'll start his milk." Chanhee tells Juyeon. 

Juyeon smiles at him in response before going to start Eric's bath. After the bath, it is time for Eric's warm milk and a story. 

"Here is your milk, Youngjae." Chanhee says, handing Eric a mug. 

"Thank you, Dad."

"Is Cinderella a good story for tonight, Youngjae?" Juyeon asks. 

"Yeah!" 

"I see you're very excited for me to read it." Juyeon chuckles, sitting down next to his son. 

Eric drinks his milk as he is read to and falls asleep a couple pages before the end of the story. 

"Good night, my little prince." Juyeon says, tucking Eric in and placing a kiss on his forehead. 

Chanhee takes the mug and he walks out with Juyeon. They decide to watch some television in the living room and cuddle on the couch together before going to bed. 

"I always feel so safe in your arms. We should do this every night." Chanhee suggests. 

"We should, I look forward to doing this for the rest of our lives."

"I love you, Juyeon."

"I love you too." Juyeon replies, kissing his husband. 


	19. Vacation

Remember when the Baes suggested to Juyeon that they all go camping together? Well, that finally happens about three years later. The boys are now eight years old and are still best friends like they were in kindergarten. 

"Okay Youngjae, don't forget to pack your stuffed dog, Arnold." Juyeon says.

"Daddy, I'm eight years old now. I don't need this, I'm not a baby." 

"Alright, I understand. You're a big boy now, all grown up." Juyeon replies, ruffling Eric's hair before leaving his room. 

Eric sneaks the dog into his bag anyway, despite telling his father that he did not need it. 

After the three of them have packed everything into the car, they drive out to the campsite. 

"Dad, can I have some juice?" Eric asks Chanhee. 

"Sure. Apple or grape?" 

"Apple, please." 

"Do you want some crackers too?" Chanhee asks, as he hands Eric his juice box. 

"Yeah."

Chanhee gives Eric the crackers and he thanks him. 

"Dad, have you ever been camping before?" Eric asks.

"No, this is my first time."

"Don't worry, I'll show you the ropes. Me and Daddy have gone camping since I was four." 

"Yeah, I remember the first time we went camping together. Back then all Youngjae wanted to do was eat s'mores and hotdogs, but now he likes fishing, hiking, and bird watching." Juyeon comments. 

Several minutes later, the Lees arrive at the campsite, with the Baes arriving just a few seconds later. As soon as Eric sees his two best friends, he runs over to them and hugs them. 

"Hi, Hyunjoon. Hi, Sunwoo."

"Hi, Eric." They both reply. 

"Are you guys ready to camp?" Eric asks them.

"More than ready."

"Daddy, Hyunjoon and Sunwoo are excited to camp too." Eric tells his father, as he and Chanhee walk over to them. 

"Are you boys eager to set up the tents too? That's what we have to do first." 

After setting up the tents, it is time to go for a hike together. 

"Look, a deer!" Eric exclaims, pointing at a deer in the distance.

"Youngjae, don't be too loud, you might startle it." Juyeon whispers. 

"Daddy, I'm scared." Hyunjoon says, holding onto Jacob. 

"It's alright, Hyunjoon. You've seen deer before." Jacob replies. 

The deer eats some grass for a few seconds more before leaving. 

"Daddy, do you think we will see any birds?" Eric asks. 

"Probably, we just have to listen for them." 

They continue down the trail and end up seeing another deer, and three birds. 

After the hike, it is time to go swimming before dinner. The boys put on their swimsuits and Jacob and Chanhee go to supervise them while Juyeon and Sangyeon start grilling the meal for dinner. 

"We should have dinner ready in about half an hour." Sangyeon says. 

"Can we swim for longer than that?" Sunwoo asks. 

"Yes, you boys can swim for as long as you want to. We will keep the food warm for you." Sangyeon replies, pinching his son's cheek. 

"Alright boys, let's go." Jacob says. 

Sunwoo, Hyunjoon, and Eric swim in the lake while Jacob and Chanhee watch them from the shore and talk. 

"Your boys are so well behaved. They are such sweethearts." Chanhee tells Jacob. 

"Thank you, so is Eric. He is such a friendly boy, he is really helpful and patient with Hyunjoon. I know this may be a personal question, but do you see him as your own son yet?" 

"Yeah, I do. I know that Eric didn't like me at first, but now he cares about me just as much as he does for Juyeon. I care about him a lot too, I want the best for him and I want him to always be happy." Chanhee answers. 

"I feel the same way about my sons." Jacob agrees. 

"Daddy, look I'm a dolphin!" Hyunjoon exclaims, jumping out of the water the same way a dolphin would. 

"And you are such a cute little dolphin." Jacob replies. 

"Let's play marco polo." Eric suggests. 

The three of them play marco polo and swim around for about twenty more minutes before coming out of the lake. Chanhee and Jacob are both waiting with towels to put around their sons. 

"Did you guys have fun in the water?"

"Yeah, we were like fishes."

Chanhee and Jacob both smile at this. 

"Well, now it is time for dinner." Chanhee says, as they walk back to the campsite. 

They arrive to see that Sangyeon and Juyeon are finishing setting up the table. 

"Perfect timing. We just finished making the burgers and hotdogs a few seconds ago." Sangyeon says. 

"Are we gonna have s'mores after this?" Eric asks.

"Only if you eat all your food." Juyeon answers. 

Eric takes a big bite of out his hamburger, he really wants to have s'mores later. 

Eric does finish all of his food, and they end up all having s'mores together over the campfire. 

"These s'more are even better than the ones my daddy makes. Thank you, Mr. Bae." Eric says. 

"Your welcome, Eric."

"You don't like daddy's s'mores?" Juyeon asks. 

"I still like your s'mores daddy, and I love you." Eric replies, hugging Juyeon. 

"And I love you too." 

"I love you too, dad." Eric tells Chanhee, after Juyeon lets go of him. 

"I love you too." 

Before Chanhee hugs Eric, he sees that he has some chocolate by the side of his mouth, so he wipes his face with a napkin.

"Dad, I can wipe my own face." Eric whines. 

"Chanhee, you're babying him even more than I do." Juyeon chuckles. 

"What? He's only eight." 

"But I'm a big boy." Eric replies, taking another s'more before sitting back in between his parents. 

"We know, Youngjae. We're both very proud of you and love you very much." Juyeon says, kissing the top of Eric's head. 

Juyeon and Chanhee both smile at each other, they are happy to have each other and to have Eric in their lives. 


	20. Dog Days

Ever since Eric was five years old, he has wanted a dog. Juyeon likes to think that Eric wanted a dog since he was a baby though, since dog was his first word. Now that Eric is ten years old, Juyeon and Chanhee think that he is old enough for a dog. 

"What kind of dog do you think we should get for Youngjae?" Chanhee asks Juyeon, as they lay in bed one night. 

"I'm not sure. Definitely a friendly one. Let's go to the shelter tomorrow and see what dogs they have." Juyeon suggests. 

Chanhee nods in agreement before giving his husband a good night kiss. 

The next day, Chanhee and Juyeon go to the dog shelter while Eric is at school. 

"Hello." The man at the front desk greets them. 

"Hi. We're here to look at the dogs."

"Follow me." The man replies, before guiding them to another room. 

They stop in a room with all different types of dogs. 

"All of the dogs in here are for adoption. You can play with them and see which one you like." The man tells them, before leaving the room.

"Juyeon, look at this dog."

The dog that Chanhee is talking about is a golden retriever and is very friendly, so Juyeon comes over to pet the dog as well. 

"Wow, he's really nice." Juyeon says, petting the dog. 

The dog sits down and smiles at them while wagging his tail. For the rest of the visit, the other dogs do not pay as much attention to them as the golden retriver did. This is a sign, the golden retriever picked them, he wants to go home with them. 

"So, are we going to be taking a dog home today?" The man at the desk asks them, with a hopeful smile. 

"Yes, we want to adopt the golden retriever ."

The man nods and brings the dog out before having them sign some paperwork and pay the adoption fee. After all of that is done, they can now take their dog home. Since Eric is still at school by the time they get home, the dog will be a surprise for him when he gets back. 

About an hour later, it is time for Juyeon to go pick Eric up from school. When the two of them come back, Juyeon tells Eric to close his eyes as they enter the house.

"Okay, you can open them now." Juyeon says, as they enter the living room together. 

Eric opens his eyes to see a golden retriever smiling at him. 

"Oh my gosh, a dog! Can we keep him, daddy?" Eric responds, running up to the dog and hugging him. 

"You bet we are keeping him. We adopted him for you. I know that you have wanted a dog since you were five, and now that you are ten I think you are old enough to take care of a dog." Juyeon replies. 

"This is so awesome! Thank you guys so much." Eric says, as he continues to pet the dog. 

"What are you going to name him?" Chanhee asks. 

Eric thinks about that for a few seconds. 

"I'm gonna name him Buster." 

"I like that name." Juyeon approves. 

"Can we go to the pet store and get him a name tag?" Eric questions. 

"Yeah, we have to go to the pet store and get some supplies for him." Chanhee agrees. 

"We can go right now, it shouldn't take long." Juyeon says, taking his keys out.

"Don't worry Buster, just stay there and we will be right back." Eric tells the dog. 

After getting the supplies and coming back home, Eric and the dog play fetch together until dinnertime. This is only the beginning of all the fun that Eric has with Buster.

Juyeon does all the dog training, while Eric does all of the care taking and playing. Eric plays fetch and frisbee with him. They even fall asleep together at night sometimes. 

Eric decides to have Sunwoo and Hyunjoon over, since they also wanted a dog when they were younger. They do not have one yet, so Eric wants to share his great fortune with them. 

"Buster is so cool, Eric." Sunwoo says, as he throws the ball for Buster to fetch again. 

"And he is so cute. I wish our fathers would get us a dog." Hyunjoon adds. 

"I'm sure they will get you guys a dog soon. Maybe you could ask them to get you on for your birthday."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to try that." Hyunjoon replies to Eric's plan. 

Buster comes back with the ball and places it in front of the boys. 

"Good boy, Buster." Eric praises, before sitting down on the grass. 

Hyunjoon and Sunwoo sit down as well and Buster follows, resting his head on Eric's leg. 

"It is such a nice day outside." Hyunjoon blurts out. 

"It is a nice day." Eric agrees, enjoying both the calm weather and the company of his three best friends. 

Juyeon and Chanhee are watching from the kitchen window. 

"He is just too adorable with that dog." Juyeon says. 

"I know, and he is taking such good care of Buster. He really is growing up, he is so responsible." Chanhee states, before the oven goes off. 

"The bread sticks are done. Can you go tell the boys to come in and wash up for dinner while I take the bread out of the oven?" 

"Sure sweetheart." Juyeon answers, giving his husband a kiss before going to call the boys in for dinner. 

Before Juyeon calls out to them, he realizes he should take a picture to remember this moment, so he goes to get the camera before going out to Eric and his friends. 

"Hey boys, can I take a picture?" Juyeon asks. 

"Sure." They agree. 

The three of them pose and Buster stays on Eric's leg while Juyeon takes the photo. When the photo comes out, Juyeon shows it to them. 

"We look so cute." Eric comments. 

"You sure do. Now come on, dinner is ready so go inside and wash up." Juyeon tells them. 

The three boys run inside and Juyeon and Buster follow. Juyeon goes up to his room to add this photo to his album of Eric's pictures. After adding it, he looks through the other photos. The very first photo in there is of Juyeon holding Eric on the day that he adopted him. There are also photos of Eric's first birthday, his first day of school, and him playing in the yard. 

Looking at these photos makes Juyeon cry with joy, he is so proud of who Eric is growing up to be and he is so glad that he adopted him ten years ago. 

"I love you so much, Youngjae." Juyeon says, before putting the book away. 

"I love you too, Daddy." Eric says, from the doorway. 

Juyeon is startled and looks over to see Eric at the door. 

"Youngjae, you scared me." Juyeon chuckles. 

"Sorry."

"That's okay. Come on, let's go have dinner." Juyeon smiles, holding onto Eric's hand as they walk to the kitchen together. 


End file.
